1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic marine components such as depth sounders, GPS receivers, marine radios, and displays. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for wirelessly linking electronic marine components to reduce or eliminate the need for application-specific wiring between the components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many marine vessels are outfitted with a multitude of electronic components such as depth sounders, GPS receivers, marine radios, electronic compasses, autopilots, altimeters, tilt sensors, weather sensors, and marine stereo receivers. Most of these electronic components also include associated displays which display data or information generated by the components. For example, depth sounder assemblies typically include at least one display for displaying a measured depth of a body of water. Many larger marine vessels include multiple- displays for each electronic component. For example, it is common for a depth sounder assembly to include a display mounted at the helm of a vessel and another display mounted in the captain's chambers. On even larger boats, further displays are mounted in other areas, such as crow's nests, secondary helms, etc. It is also sometimes desirable to connect electronic marine components to one another in a networked fashion. For example, several weather sensors may be networked together and connected to a single display to display various weather conditions such as temperature, wind speed, etc. on the display.
Electronic marine components are typically hard-wired to their displays, to each other, and to a source of power. Wiring to a source of power is typically not a problem because most marine vessels include one or more power busses that can be easily tapped into to receive power. However, wiring multiple electronic components to their displays and to each other is problematic because most marine vessels have a limited amount of available space for such wiring, especially near their helms, which are crowded with other components, instruments, and displays. Installing wiring between electronic components and their displays is especially problematic for “after-market” components that are installed after a vessel has been built because doing so often requires the removal and reinstallation of carpeting, trim, or other components. Additionally, special care must be taken not to disturb the watertight and/or weatherproof nature of a vessel when installing components and wiring therein.